Author note: I really wanted to respond to reviews on both Wattpad, , etc. However, something school related came up and I've got to deal with that first. However, next chapter I am planning on responding to all reviews and likewise the wattpad Q&A. Thanks for following, favoriting, reviewing, commenting, etc. I greatly appreciate it and I hope you all have a great day and enjoy! I think, I've finally figured out how I want the upcoming chapters to go. The next coming arcs are going to be shorter and more episode oriented (Hopefully) But I don't want to make the same mistake Gwitch did. I want there to be enough character interaction, growth, mystery, and intrigue for the story and I can't wait for it to continue.

Best Regards,

The Author

Chapter 22

The atmosphere inside the dining hall was as gloomy as the blackish-grey skies outside. Ice rain relentlessly battered the massive glass windows, and the wind howled in the distance. Miorine and Suletta sat in a booth, surrounded by the cold spectacle of the weather.

"H-hey, Miorine," Suletta spoke tentatively.

Miorine turned her gaze from the chaotic scene outside. Chin resting on her hand, she stared at the purple lights flickering in the distance. The lack of power had left the whole campus in darkness, a frustrating circumstance for someone whose setup relied heavily on electricity. They found themselves forced to eat in the dimly lit dining hall.

"Look!" Suletta exclaimed, excitement in her voice. She took a lone cookie and slammed it forcefully against the table. The cookie remained intact, but the table now bore a dent.

"What in the world?" Miorine muttered, wide-eyed. "It's a cookie, a damned chocolate chip cookie," she said to herself, only for Suletta to smile and chuckle.

Miorine sighed, taking a sip from her coffee. At least the coffee was halfway decent, she thought. Neither of them seemed to have much appetite. Suletta had barely touched her food, mirroring Miorine's lack of interest. Miorine noticed Suletta's smile gradually shifting into a contorted expression.

"Are you okay?" Miorine asked, concern in her voice.

Suletta shrugged, her emotions oddly elusive. Miorine, usually adept at reading Suletta, found herself unable to discern her friend's feelings. Leaning back in her seat, Miorine wrapped her arms around herself.

"Is this about Aiden and House Harmony?" she sighed, her frustration evident even in the way she pronounced Suletta's name. "They have lied to us on a number of occasions. Even after my conversation with Deacon about no more lies, he continues to deceive me. Does it not bother you how they concealed where they went for over a week? How Deacon would openly be our friend but hide such information? I'm practically forking the bill for their mechs and equipment, and this is how they repay me, repay us?"

Suletta lifted her gaze, and Miorine pressed on. "Aiden comes back with bruises and wounds. They drag in some hot-headed ginger with a gun that threatened Earth House. It would be a damned miracle if Harmony did not get reported to academy police!" Miorine was breathing heavily now, a mix of frustration and exasperation escaping in a heavy groan.

"Suletta, I get that you care about them. I get that you feel for them, and yes, that is a good thing about your character. However, they don't deserve it," Miorine snapped. "The moment I went into that room, they were trying to hide what happened to Oscar."

"Oscar?" Suletta's eyes widened. "H-he looked to be fine, Miorne. Actually, he seemed to be the only one acting like himself."

Miorine shook her head, pausing, contemplating whether to reveal the gruesome truth about Oscar's condition. The dilemma gripped her, aware that Suletta's compassionate nature would propel her to check on Oscar herself. Yet, the injury couldn't be concealed. She bit her lip and locked eyes with Suletta.

"Suletta, when I went into the room, Oscar, he was trying to act like it was normal, but his leg…his foot, it was…"

The conversation halted abruptly as a new figure approached. The dining hall, with its sparse occupants, turned their attention to the newcomer. Miorine and Suletta, consumed by the day's chaos, hadn't paid much heed to who was present. A distracted Miorine just wanted to eat and leave. Yet, the approaching figure demanded their attention.

"Oscar!" Suletta called out with a wave, but her joy quickly shifted to horror as Oscar, with crutches supporting him, drew closer. Miorine, too, recoiled at the sight.

Utilizing his left leg to move forward, Oscar's right leg presented a disturbing absence. His foot was gone, replaced by emptiness, a void concealed beneath a tied pant leg. Suletta, initially speechless, stammered out, "Oscar…he…"

Miorine sneered and turned away, hoping against hope that it was a trick of her eyes. Unfortunately, the dreadful truth unfolded before her. Wherever Aiden, Oscar, and Jack had ventured, they had returned with a madman, and Oscar had lost his foot.

Eyes in the dining hall fixated on Oscar, though the space was already sparse. Unburdened by food, he bore the carefree smirk from their first meeting in Aerial's cockpit. "Can I sit with you two?" he asked.

Suletta, preparing to give Oscar space in the booth, was interrupted by a still-heated Miorine. "No," she snapped. "I am real sick of you Harmony boys for today. Even you, Oscar."

Silence hung in the air, with Suletta caught between Miorine and Oscar, each locked in a tense stare. "Miorine, Oscar has always been kind and—"

"He's a little pervert," Miorine snapped back, locking eyes with Oscar, who, undeterred, continued to smirk.

Oscar's lean was almost a challenge, a dare whispered in the tense air of the dimly lit dining hall. "Really, Miorine," he said, his voice carrying a daring edge. "I'd be very careful what you say to me right now."

A snort erupted from Miorine, a heavy chuckle following suit. "Excuse me?" she shot back.

"Woah!" Oscar boomed, his voice echoing within the dining room. His smile, though seemingly amused, betrayed an underlying anger. He looked on the verge of bursting into laughter, a storm beneath the surface of his façade, unnoticed by those too far to witness it. "Are you really going to be like this right now, Miorine Rembran."

Miorine locked eyes with him, an air of exasperation surrounding her. "Okay, you've never called me by my full name before," she sighed. "Oscar, I really don't want to deal with anyone from Harmony House today. Fine, Suletta, you're right. Oscar isn't that bad, but I still…"

"Jesus Christ, Miorine!" Oscar's voice rose, a sudden intensity breaking through. "I can't believe you're bullying a cripple right now!"

Miorine's eyes widened, a ripple of anxiety coursing through her. She peered out of the booth, aware of the eyes upon her, whispers fluttering through the room. "Oscar, what are you doing?" she spoke, her voice carrying a hint of desperation.

"Woah, Miorine!" Oscar's voice reverberated, booming with each word. "It isn't the 1930s anymore; you can't be telling cripples to sit on the floor and eat with the dogs!"

Miorine rose from her seat, her actions drawing even more attention. Sweat dampened her brow as she frantically flailed her arms in the air. "I did not say a single word of that!" she vehemently announced.

But Oscar, undeterred, got louder, fighting the urge to laugh. "Miorine, it isn't kind to threaten to put me in the back of the bus…"

"Okay, what do you want!" Miorine snapped back, her frustration palpable. "This is borderlining on not just bullying the disabled but racism."

"Let me sit with you," Oscar declared, firmness in his tone.

"Fine," Miorine relented with a groan, sighing in relief. "Fine, just please stop it with this. You're going to destroy my reputation!"

"More like get you cancelled," Oscar chuckled, as Suletta joined Miorine. Oscar claimed Suletta's seat, crutches at his side, and the two girls studied his demeanor.

Silence descended upon them, and Oscar's smirk began to wane. "So, what was all that about?" Suletta asked.

"To get my attention," Miorine interjected, her voice returning to that cold, gripping tone. "Why are you talking to us, and why are you making up such grisly lies?"

Oscar huffed, his demeanor shifting. "Says the girl that wasn't letting me sit for dinner. A lot has happened with House Harmony, but that doesn't change the fact that I still care about you and Suletta. Aren't we all friends?"

Suletta rushed to speak, but Miorine raised a hand, silencing her. Suletta's lips were parted, ready to speak, but she sighed and waited. "Friends," Miorine snapped the word, narrowing her eyes like daggers at Oscar. "Friends don't lie to each other, Oscar."

"I've never lied to you," he said plainly, his right hand pressed to his chest. "I've been on your and Suletta's side ever since I've met you."

Miorine scoffed. "So, you're completely innocent in all this. It's all the big bad Deacon's fault and…"

Oscar raised his hand to stop her. "You can't blame Deacon and us for being secretive, Miorine. We've all been through some really messed up shit, and honestly, it's very unfair for you to judge us so harshly." He paused, wrapping his arms around himself. "You had a point earlier in the year."

"Earlier in the year?" Miorine repeated, her frustration evident as she stared at him with daggers. "What are you…"

"You had a point when you compared Deacon and Aiden to your father, you had a point in being worried about Suletta and Aiden's relationship, and you had a point in a lot of other things. However, Miorine, I do not know what you expect from us…you know of our history, of our backgrounds, of what we lost."

Miorine sneered. "There is no excuse for the type of lying that you 'Sons of Harmony' have done," she lectured.

Oscar stared back at her, and Suletta, attempting to cease the argument, raised her hands. However, Oscar dared Miorine to continue. "You're honestly one of the most privileged people I've ever met in my life."

"Excuse me!" she snapped, nearly rising from her seat, her grip held firmly by Suletta.

"Miorine, we're in public…" Suletta spoke.

"So, what?" Miorine snapped back, throwing her gaze back at Oscar. "That didn't stop him from embarrassing me," she pointedly looked at Oscar. "Who the hell are you to state that my life was privileged? You don't know me, the things I've had to deal with. My mother, my father…I…I…"

"…and everything that was done to you was thrice worse on us," snapped back Oscar. He stared at her, his fingers clenched into fists, his gaze now aimed at the table. The final words had struck a match, and Miorine ceased her talking, while Suletta remained perplexed.

"Fine, then," Oscar spoke, daring them with narrowed eyes. "You want to ask a question, ask it. I'll answer it fully and truthfully, but I guarantee you that these answers are not going to be liked by you or…" He threw a gaze at Suletta, then shook his head.

"Why did you look at her and shake your head?" questioned Miorine.

"Because I don't doubt Suletta," he spoke just as quickly. "Suletta is loyal, and I do not fear that she will harm me or risk the safety of me and my brothers."

A dry chuckle escaped Miorine's lips. "I pay for your mechs, I excuse you lot out of your classes, and you'll trust Suletta over me?" she snapped. "I know, this has to do with Aiden and Suletta's relationship…"

"Christ, Miorine," snapped back Oscar. "This has nothing to do with Suletta and Aiden. This has to do with House Harmony and you, the fact that you are the daughter of people who were responsible for burning our world down."

Miorine grew tense and silent at that. She sighed and shook her head. "Do you all hate me?" she asked.

Oscar shook his head. "We don't," he spoke plainly.

Miorine sneered. "My father…he never ordered for Harmony's destruction," she spoke the words but refused to meet his gaze.

"Maybe," muttered Oscar, but his next words were aimed at her. "But the Benrett Group was complacent. I know for a fact that they supplied the IMC with weapons of warfare, and even when those same companies utilized gundams to even the playing field, your father turned a blind eye. The damned president that made those same rules, he willingly turned away when we declared independence."

Miorine was silent at that, and she remained silent.

Oscar continued. "You wish to speak about our secrets and past, fine then. But answer me this…you, the daughter of the president, what do you think of Harmony's destruction?"

Miorine was still silent and brought her gaze up suddenly. "It was horrible," she stated.

Oscar's dry chuckle filled the booth. "Of course it was," he mumbled back towards her. "But you don't get it, Miorine. You watched my world burn on the comfort of your couch being treated by maids. We all learned about our world being nuked from different corners of the galaxy. Men, women, and children burnt that day, Miorine. The seas boiled, and the stars rained blood, and even now…the radiation levels of the planet have never dropped. It will forever be a dead world."

Oscar turned his gaze to Suletta. "Suletta, how would it feel knowing that Mercury was destroyed?"

Suletta's eyes went wide at that, and Miorine rushed to her defense. "Oscar, this…"

"Shut up," he solely uttered at her. His smirk had left his features, and now he was staring at the pair. "I was an orphan that was drafted. I held no lands, I had no family, I had no one waiting for me to come back home. We all lost people on Harmony, we were thousands of miles away from our homeland when it burnt in nuclear fire."

He paused, and he reeled backward into his seat. He dug into the pocket of his jacket and exposed a wad of envelopes. "What is this, Oscar?" Miorine asked, silently disturbed. This was the first time she had seen Oscar like this.

"Mementoes," he dryly responded and placed them next to him. He drew a piece from it and slid a photo towards Suletta and Miorine. Miorine was the first to take it tenderly with both hands, and Suletta gazed from over her.

Miorine looked at the photo. It was matted and yellow from time, but she could still discern images and such. The photo was taken outside, but it wasn't from their solar system. The picture in the background had two moons in the sky and a setting sun plaguing the world in a vibrant purple landmark. Three people, three kids faced the photo. All born with trademark brown hair and deep green eyes. "Who is this, why are you showing me this?" Miorine asked, but she now saw the resemblance.

"Is this…" Suletta was speaking, but she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, Deke, I think that was a month or two before he was taken when he was younger. Funny, we don't know why the militia only took young boys, but they said something that the electronics they drilled into our heads only worked for young boys and young men. 'The Sons of Harmony.' Elevated to new likes with their abilities. I went by choice, Suletta and Miorine. As crazy as it sounds, the orphanage had no place for me, and I thought back then that if I distinguished myself maybe I could leave that crappy world. But fate had other plans, and even now I miss those old friends and the adults that were kind to me."

Miorine rested the photo back on the table. "Why are you showing us this?" Miorine questioned, annoyance and anger trickling from her. "You cannot hide things, Oscar. You can't hide things and be secretive and try to guilt me and Suletta into…"

"We should've never let Deacon onto the surface of Harmony first," Oscar interrupted, the words more aimed at himself as he reeled from the memory. He seized his head, and Suletta saw it, noting like it was like the memory caused him actual pain. "Aiden knew better, even back then he knew better…no one deserved to see their sister like that. But we were still kids back then, we still thought that maybe something was left. That the hundreds of us that came along on that warship with Marko, even then, Marko was right. Never forget, never forgive."

Miorine was frozen, and her mind latched back onto the picture. A memory resurfaced, a moment with Aiden she imagined when they were together and talking. "Never ask about our family." He had told her, but it felt more like a joke veiled with something else. Back then, she didn't understand, but now.

"Miorine, you've seen movies and video games before that had nuke scenes, right?" Oscar asked. She slowly nodded along. "You know it's bullshit, right? You can't just stare at a nuke go off and be fine. The blast of it will blind you, burn the literal shit out of your retinas." He spoke and pointed at his eyes for added effect.

Miorine and Suletta were frozen in place, staring at the table. Oscar outstretched his hand and pointed to the girl left of Deacon. "They were twins, but they died separately. We never found Liz, who was on the left. They lived in the city, Miorine. There were so many bodies…and we even tried burying them, but there was so much. It was horrible Miorine, the amount of children we buried that day was horrible. And Deacon doesn't even know if it was his own sister's bones that were in that pile."

Miorine's eyes went wide at the declaration. She rose her gaze to meet Oscar's own. Oscar continued. "The other girl, Jaime. We found her in the destroyed train tunnels of Harmony, she was smart, must've seen the bomb go off and on impulse ran to the tunnels. We never found her sister, and she was so weak Miorine when we found her. Radiation exposure, starvation, dehydration…she was in her own filth and crying blind in the dark when we found her. Imagine that, eating rats to survive…drinking out of an irradiated pool for water, I bet that arranged marriage to Guel sounds pretty great about now."

Miorine's breath grew uneven as she stared at the photo. "She could hear though, Miorine," declared Oscar. "Deacon held her tight in his arms, and he didn't even cry as he held her. There was a mercy in the bombs, Miorine. A quick death, but for people like her who somehow survived, the moment he touched her…" Oscar's fingers tightened and unloosened a violent tremor rising from the memory. "She faded away into nothingness. She smiled, Miorine."

He raised his head towards Miorine. "Deacon had the luxury of burying his sister and knowing where she was buried…Jack and Aiden both dug holes for their families, but how do we know it was them in their houses?" He aimed the question at them, but both girls felt sick to their stomachs at the realization of what had occurred.

"We dug holes for our fathers, our mothers, our sisters and brothers. For all we know, we buried strangers in their graves. And their carcasses still rot under the heat of Harmony's ruined atmosphere. Now, I ask you, Miorine…how the hell do you get over this? Explain to me how Deacon could live after his little sister died in his arms like that?"

He paused, and he raised his finger towards Miorine, who felt it. That anger, the anger of the warband of the boys. No, of the men they once were. She felt that anger directed towards her as Oscar showed her who he once was. Oscar Wilbur, Sergeant of 'The Sons of Harmony.' First contingent and pilot of the Northstar Unit. He had murdered men for even looking at him wrong. And in that instant, Miorine saw the held-back mania and bloodlust the Sons had tried to hide, but one cannot hide from their true nature.

"Your father did that to us," he spat the words out. "Call it what you will, but the dogs of the IMC came to our world to conquer, and we pushed them back. If Harmony was a part of your father's group, he would've done something, but because the IMC was part of the branches, damn them and damn him."

Miroine quivered with rage, and she wanted to lash out. However, how could she after all this? "If…if my father knew about this," Miorine spoke. "He'll…he'll…" However, Miorine was at a loss for words.

"It doesn't matter," snapped Oscar. "The damage is done, whether or not you realize it we already suffered enough for a lifetime. That greenhouse you love so much, imagine how Aiden felt going into his mother's greenhouse and finding her there. Within the blast-scorched dirt and dead flowers, he found and buried bones in a dead world. What of Jack, a member of Harmony nobility that one day would lead the planet? His father died fighting for Harmony, and his older brother did too. He didn't get the luxury of burying them, their titans were their graves. And of his mother…we do not know; we never found her body."

They were silent for a moment. Oscar was trembling with a mixture of anger and volatility, his fingers were still shaking, and there were tremors rising along his body. He dug into his coat and exposed a flask, opening it and taking a mighty swig.

"Oscar, what are you do…"

"Shut up," lectured back Oscar. "Let me have a drink, don't you think I deserve it?" he snapped back.

She was silent at that, after that, maybe so. He sighed and coughed the bile liquid into his fist. Yet, the tremors ceased, and he stared upon them. "We left Harmony after that, not before stripping whatever we could find that wasn't attached. Marko, he was the one shockingly that pushed for us to recover anything that was of our history. A way for our world to live on." He chuckled dryly. "That was before Marko let the madness sneak in, we rarely talk about it…our time in the WarBand. But Miorine, you speak of hating your father, but you do not know what hate is."

He etched the words out and ground his teeth together like a feral dog. "That meager dislike you have for your father cannot ever compare to the hatred we felt that day," he sneered and glared at the girl. "Your father murdered us, whether by his complacency or by his inaction. Marko gathered us in that day. The youngest was thirteen and the oldest was eighteen, but we made a pact that day to never forget. To embark on a crusade amongst the stars, an eternal crusade need be. A crusade that one day we may never live to see our victory…but the long war will end when either the heads of those that killed our families are on spikes and their skins are flayed off their backs. Then, they'll remember us…the sons of the fathers who they murdered, and the sons who they free."

Miorine's eyes went wide at those final words. Then, she understood. She had heard that name before, the way they talked, the secrets hidden beneath truth. She knew now, and a bead of sweat traveled down her brow.

"Suletta…" Miorine called out, ready to seize her hand and run. Oscar was right; they were far more dangerous than whatever her father was capable of.

Yet, Suletta didn't budge; she stared upon Oscar now. "A pact?" she questioned. "That was the reason why you left. To honor it?"

Oscar gave her a smile, a rewarding smile like a parent to a child who answered correctly. "Yes, Suletta. Let me put it this way, men sign contracts with ink. The contract me, Aiden, Deacon, and Jack are bound to have our blood for letters. Make that of what you will, never forget, never forgive."

Then, it all came to her in that moment. From the very first day she could remember how the Harmony boys' transport ship was battered and pained over. Bullet wounds and shrapnel were still embedded into the frame, and so much had happened that it had slipped from her mind.

However, as she stared along Oscar's face, watched as he smirked and smiled while talking about putting heads on spikes and flaying men, she realized something—they were terrorists.

"Suletta, we need to leave now!" she yelled, gripping Suletta hard and tight by the shoulder, nearly wrenching her out of her seat.

Yet, Suletta winced from the pain. "Miorine," she snapped and pushed herself off from her.

Oscar stared at the exchange; Miorine was breathing heavily and stunned that Suletta would push her off. Suletta's eyes were just as surprised.

"Miorine, why are you leaving?" Suletta asked.

Miorine was now staring daggers at Oscar. "He's a terrorist," she snarled.

Suletta gazed back at Oscar, watching as he merely grimaced and pointed at Miorine. "…and this is why Aiden and Deacon never tell you shit. Your mind is so small, and even though you're so smart, you don't think. Maybe, that's why your escape attempts have always been thwarted."

Miorine sneered. "Go to hell," she snapped coldly.

"Touched a nerve," Oscar teased. "Maybe, you just want to admit that daddy never hugged you enough and this is just some piss-poor cries for attention."

Miorine raised her hand to slap Oscar, but Suletta seized her. "Suletta, what are you doing?" Miorine snapped at her. "This bastard is a…is a…"

"He's my friend, he's our friend," snapped back Suletta. "Miorine, y-ou don't let… me speak. It's always what you want to say or believe." She was stuttering heavily now, but Suletta retreated back into her seat.

Oscar looked at her. "You're not afraid," he spoke.

Suletta paused and stared at him. "I…I don't know what to say, Oscar," she spoke plainly. "However, what happened to your world was evil, anyone would agree to such a thing."

Miorine was lost for words. Her eyes drew back towards Oscar as he continued speaking, and he directed his next words to Miorine. "Hero…Villain…treason, they're all just words, Miorine. In an alternative universe if it was Harmony that offered up their technology, the Benrett Group would've authorized the use of nukes against their own home world. Would you have been praising us as heroes, then?" He questioned.

Miorine was silent at that. Yet, she stood firm. "I don't know, Oscar. But declaring an endless long war is merely going to hurt people along the way. This war, it could lead to civilian casualties. You may only be continuing the cycle of hate that birthed you and…"

"Cry me a fucking river," Oscar lectured. "Tell that to the dead babies that had to be buried in mass burial grounds. All the fuckers the warband came after during our tenure got what was coming and more. I don't regret it, and the rest don't too."

He turned to Suletta. "Miorine would call us traitors, but I bet if we fought with her father we'd be lauded as heroes, but no. We were the child soldiers who went berserk from the militia drilling electronics in our skulls. Not the IMC who forced our homeland to resort to such things, not the IMC who equally just as killed my brothers and young adult soldiers equally. Miorine does not know war. That is why she judges us so cruelly, and why Aiden and Deacon both knew you would never understand."

"I don't," snapped back Miorine. "I do not condone such actions and…"

"I ask to be listened to and understood, Suletta is giving me that grace, what of you?" He spat back at her. "You were ready to take her away even before I could even finish telling my point. No wonder you've always been so alone."

And that earned a deafening slap across his face that echoed within the hall. Oscar merely stared at her, Miorine reeling with exasperation and anger streaking along her features. Yet, Oscar merely stared at her with a lone red handprint appearing across her features.

"You really think that hurts?" Oscar snarked. "You're speaking to someone who's lost practically everything, a little hit isn't going to do a damn to me."

He paused, and the air grew silent as the only sound was Miorine's heavy breathing. He stared upon her, but then threw his gaze away from her and drew it towards Suletta.

"Did you know that Jack was of Harmony nobility, Suletta?"

Suletta drew her gaze to him, and he watched as those teal eyes filled with intrigue and childlike curiosity. "H-he was?" She stuttered in surprise.

"Yes, he was," spoke Oscar with a smile. "He wasn't in line for the throne; his older brother actually was, but after his death, I suppose Jack would technically be in line now. Maybe, if things were different, he would've been married off just like how Miorine is…but now he can only rule ash and soot."

Oscar sighed, and the smile slowly started to dissipate. "Our brothers, our fathers, they all died fighting the IMC so the frontier could be free. The men and women of the Benrett Group and the corporations have declared them as villains and turncloaks. Yet, they do not realize just how loyal we were. Loyal to honor, loyal to the just, loyal to those that deserved more. We did not wish to be slaves to corporations hell-bent on making a buck, but a democracy, a place where we could decide our fate, our future. Where our children will be free from being taxed by a mummer's government."

A sadness swept across Oscar's eyes now. His eyes narrowing as his palm went across his features. "It all could've gone differently, don't you think? So many ifs? If Jack Cooper didn't destroy the fold weapon and instead we weaponized it, if Aiden and Jack weren't sent so far away then maybe we could've still saved Cooper, and if the Earthians proved true instead of treacherous…if they donated their full strength to this war, if we had just a bit more time to send more of our raptor units to the battlefield. So many ifs, and if a single one was different than maybe we would've been lauded as heroes against a force of evil, a corporation hell-bent on galactic domination. For that is what it was, a domination of the solar system, and we were wrong to oppose them?"

Oscar drew into the roll of parchment. He took out more and more photos, and his voice rang on. Yet, he took one out of the pile and handed it to Suletta, and she held it tight and observed it. "It would suit Delling Rembran that their names would be forgotten. Damn him, and damn the rest of the group. For we Sons of Harmony shall never forget the heroes. I remember, Sarah Briggs, James McAllan, Cheng Lorck, Captain Cole, Eli Anderson, Jack Cooper! I ask you, Suletta Mercury and Miorine Rembran, has there ever been such a noble company, such a great roll of heroes assembled to battle against tyranny!"

And Suletta's heart bristled at the noble words that slipped from Oscar's lips. Now, she saw a photo of a different world surrounded by ice and a forest. Posed looked to be…a younger version of Aiden and Jack, but there was another person. His hands on both boys' shoulders as they all smiled. "Who is this?" Miorine questioned.

"Jack Cooper, hero of the militia," spoke Oscar triumphantly. "He personally trained Aiden and Jack, or at the time we called him Little Jack," and a slight chuckle erupted from her at the nickname.

He turned to Miorine at the moment. "Are you happy now, Miorine?" He questioned, and Miorine turned to stare at him. Uncompromising and stern with arms wrapped tight around herself. "Was this the truth you so desired, now you know. Me, Aiden, and Jack went off into deep space to fulfill a part of our oath, but that was our past. But I assume that you wish to know…"

"The warband, the legion, and what happened after Harmony," spoke Miorine. Her eyes narrowing at the end of the sentence. "Real ironic that you left that part out."

Oscar snorted now. "Fine then, you wish to hear the horrors of the warband, then?" He questioned, and malice etched into his words. "I'd rather us talk more in private about this one. You wish to hear about why we left?"

Miorine glared. "Left?" She repeated after him. "Then, what was your business in returning back?"

Yet, Oscar's eyes flared with rage, but right before it happened, the dining hall's door slammed open. The doors nearly thrown off the hinges as all those present drew their gazes straight towards the interloper, Jack.

"Jack, he's…" Suletta's eyes were wide as she was the first to realize it. Jack raced over towards their table, his footsteps pounding against the tiled floor as he ran straight towards them.

Oscar threw a gaze towards Jack as Jack breathlessly threw himself against the table. Wild, deranged, and ragged with breath. It was Suletta that…

"Jack, are you bleeding?" She questioned.

Mioinre and Oscar realized it secondly. "Jack, what happened?" Oscar snapped.

Jack shook his head. "No…no time," He seized Oscar by the shoulder and stared at him with wild brown eyes, a lens from his glass was popped, and his shaved head had a line along it.

"Jack, what the hell happened!" Oscar screamed even louder.

Yet, Jack got it now. He stared at the trio, and breathlessly he centered himself and stared at them. "Oscar, Aiden's got into a duel, and we've got a score to settle about now," He paused and wrenched his gaze towards Suletta. "Suletta," And Suletta nearly stammered at his wildness. "How is the Aerial unit, is it battle worthy?"

Suletta was frozen, but the words shook her awake. "Yes, Aerial can duel." She spoke curtly.

Miorine now threw her gaze at Jack. "What happened?" She demanded. "Did Guel issue another duel or…"

"No," Jack shook his head, and he looked down at his hands, and they saw the amount of blood that had welled up. Jack shook his head and slammed his palm against the table. "Oscar, Suletta, me, Aiden, and Connor…that's enough for the trial," He threw a gaze towards Suletta. "Your mother is aiding us with Guel's father; he's pissed but we need everyone in the roster battle-ready as soon as possible. A war is about to break out!"

"Jack!" Snapped Oscar. "What is happening."

And Jack stared at them all. "I didn't realize it would amount to this," And he paused, and he drew his gaze downwards as the coming words visibly pained him. "We went to...a fight broke out...and," He hesitated and stuttered as he gazed down at his bloodied fist and finally borne the courage to look at them. "Laude, Guel's brother... was stabbed."